Growing Red Heirloom Tomatoes
Historical Red Fruiting Tomato Plants and Growing Information
Want to grow a red heirloom tomato? Here are a variety of red tomatoes with their heirloom information, days to maturity, common uses and description.
Heirloom tomatoes are those tomatoes that are open-pollinated rather than hybrid or genetically modified varieties of tomatoes.
Some of these varieties were grown regionally by gardeners who saved the seeds each year and passed them on to family or friends in the area. Now, as these unique heirlooms are being “rediscovered” more and more heirloom varieties are being offered for sale nationally.
Here is a list of some popular, or unique, red heirloom tomatoes as well as the amount of days from transplanting to maturity, and a description of the fruit size. All these heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate unless otherwise stated.
Amish Paste – 80-85 days. A 6-8oz tomato with meaty flesh that is great for paste, sauces or canning. Originally from Wisconsin it is a long-time, tasty favorite.
Beefsteak Tomato – 85 days. An old standard for home gardeners, these tomatoes have rich flavor and deep red color. Very large, slightly ribbed, fruits.
Campbell’s 1327 – 75 days. Semi-determinate plant that does not need staking, this is a canning tomato developed for growing in the North. 8oz red fruits are disease resistant.
Large Red Tomato – 82 days. Grown by the Shaker’s in Hancock, Massachusetts as early as 1830. This heirloom tomato has deeply ribbed, large fruits with a full flavor.
Mule Team – 85 days. A continuously bearing tomato plant that is a “real workhorse” in the vegetable garden. 8-12 oz red fruits are produced until frost kills the plant.
Porter Tomato – 72 days. Developed in Texas, this heirloom tomato has good heat resistance, drought tolerance and humidity tolerance. Small, round fruits are sweet and excellent for sauces, salsa and juice.
Riesentraube – 78-85 days. A German variety that means “Giant Bunch of Grapes” because of the sweet, tiny fruit that grows in large clusters. A large tomato plant with massive yields that has been popular since the 1800’s.
Roma – 76 days. Very popular variety, well-known tomato taste. Determinate, wilt resistant plants. Tomatoes are crack resistant and good for sauces, pastes or canning.
Sioux Tomato – 70-80days. Early, mid-sized fruit on very productive plants. Popular historical tomato.
St Pierre – 78 days. A French heirloom tomato popular in Europe because of the rich flavor that remains even through the canning process. Large red fruits grow on prolific vines even in poor soil conditions.
Sub-Artic Plenty – 49-59 days. One of the earliest maturing tomatoes available, this determinate will set fruit in colder temperatures and was developed in Alberta, Canada. Compact, good-producing plant makes many 2 oz tomatoes perfect for salads and fresh eating.
Thessaloniki– 60-80days. A Greek tomato with large fruit in high yields. Disease resistant plants are great for home growers and small market gardeners.
Many of the heirloom tomato information for this article came from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds or from the book American Tomatoby Robert Hendrickson.
- See Heirloom Tomatoes of other colors or sizes.
